The Paper and Pulp Industry:
Addressing the Need for Energy Efficiency
Paper Industry Trends
India’s pulp and paper sector has become very promising with the rise in local demand. The industry has witnessed a massive upsurge due to as several factors like rise in the population, literacy rate and GDP, improvement in the manufacturing sector, and up gradation in people’s lifestyles. Gujarat, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra account for over 70% of India’s total installed capacity for paper production. Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Kerala, Bihar, and Assam collectively produce around 25% of India’s total paper output. Moving forward, India’s paper sector revenue is expected to increase from $ 8.6 billion in 2018 to $ 13.4 billion in 2024.
The paper sector is one of the most energy-intensive and highly polluting sectors and is therefore of particular interest in the context of both local and global environmental discussions. It is the world’s fifth greatest energy consumer, accounting for 4% of global energy consumption. The average steam and electricity usage per tonne of a typical paper mill in India is very high – with roughly 11 to 15 tonnes and 1,300 to 1,700 KZWh usage. Coal, petroleum fuels, biomass, and electricity make up the majority of the fuel mix in India’s paper sector, with the first two accounting for more than 68% of total final energy consumption. In India, there are more than 800 pulp and paper factories. This creates an urgent need to use green technology for reducing carbon emissions. In order to reducing fossil fuel consumption while also cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The paper industry typically uses two types of energy: electrical and thermal. Process heating at low and intermediate temperatures accounts for a large portion (75%) of the energy consumed in paper manufacturing. The following are the processes involved in a typical paper & pulp mill that require heat energy to generate steam and heating water:
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- Pulp making
- Pulp processing
- Water treatment
- Steam & power generation
- Effluent treatment
- Wood chipping and pulping
- Drying
- Bleaching and washing
- Boiler feed water heating
The major share of energy, which is needed in industrial production processes, is below 250°C – a temperature level. This level could be very efficiently supplied by solar thermal technologies. Solar energy can be efficiently harnessed to provide heat at needed temperatures using cutting-edge technologies for:
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- Increasing the efficiency of use of fuel and
- Substituting renewable energy sources for fossil fuels in appropriate processes and end uses
The Transition towards Solar Energy
The manufacturing process of the paper and paperboard industry creates significant air and water emissions. Paper manufacturing is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions that include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and particulates. Hence the focus of paper industry is now shifting towards more eco-friendly products and technology.
The Government of India has established rules and regulations to control the population and degradation of forest. These measures taken by the government have resulted in considerable changes in the Indian paper industry. Many of the existing players are switching to energy efficiency improvements.
Scope of Solar Energy for Paper Industry
There are many paper mills in India that are now supplementing their operations by using solar energy due to its substantial benefits. Using renewable energy sources to meet the energy demands of the paper sector can have various long-term benefits for the Indian economy.
- In the case of paper industry, solar thermal can lead to huge fuel savings. It is estimated that in India over 100 million tonnes of fuel oil is consumed annually for various uses. Out of this, almost 40% is being consumed in the industrial sector alone. Further, 40-50% of this consumption is in thermal form alone with temperature range below 250 C which comes to around 15 million tonnes of fuel oil per annum. The applications mainly include craft pulping, bleaching and drying in pulp and paper industry etc. Solar thermal has the potential to displace these fuel consumptions.
- The use of solar energy devices / systems in companies for process heat and other thermal applications has enormous potential. Presently, energy for these applications is being met mainly through fuel oil which is not only import dependent but is also creating huge GHG emissions in atmosphere resulting threat to our planet.
- There are number of solar energy technologies which can be used for such applications and reduce consumption of fuel oil mainly during day time. The technologies include solar water heating systems, steam generation and air heating systems based on flat plate collectors (FPC), evacuated tube collectors (ETC) and automatically tracked solar concentrating collectors.
Wrapping It Up
There is no denying that the energy requirement in the paper industry is enormous. Given the above benefits, adopting solar energy will offer the paper and pulp sector control over one of the most critical element, energy cost. Needless to say, this type of energy is extremely cost-effective. It helps to save the other sources of energy from running out. Using this technology, the paper mill owners will no longer have to depend on the other sources of energy.
The Road Ahead
Going by the occurrences in the past few years, solar will undoubtedly become a vital part of one of the country’s biggest industries. The journey has begun and it will soon pave the way for sustainable growth and success.